The Paradox

Shimon is an award-winning filmmaker with numerous films to his credit, fiction and documentaries. He teaches Political Cinema and Visual Thinking at New York University Graduate School of Journalism, is a recipient of a New York Public Library Cullman Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and is a fellow of the New York Institute for the Humanities. Shimon was born in Romania, grew up in Israel, and now lives and works in New York City. His films were screened and won awards in multiple film festivals, including New York FF, Berlin, Chicago, Sundance, Montreal, Toronto, Jerusalem, Melbourne, and more. Shimon’s films have aspired to bridge ideas and ideologies with visual storytelling. To this end, he often collaborates with leading scholars and practitioners from various disciplines. Shimon’s films include The Settlers (Sundance, NYFF) and the feature documentary Cyber Everything, (2023) for ARTE – France

Barkai serves as executive producer and story editor of the acclaimed Netflix and Yes series Shtisel and its prequel, Kugel. As producer and co-creator of Kan 11’s East Side, she continues to develop captivating narratives. Among her other producing credits are the award-winning Srugim, The Attaché, and When We Kiss—which has been sold for broadcast and adaptation across multiple territories, including HBO Europe. Barkai has produced several acclaimed documentary films including Hothouse (2006), directed by Shimon Dotan in collaboration with ARTE France, which won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance and was sold to HBO. She also produced A Place of Her Own (2011), winner of the Best Debut Film at Docaviv. Currently, she is working on The 16th Sheep, directed by Ran Tal, being produced for HOT and YES and The Paradox, directed by Shimon Dotan, for HOT.